“ Much of aging comes from a misunderstanding of the effect of comfort—a disease of civilization: make life longer and longer, while people are more and more sick. Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ Most so-called writers keep writing and writing with the hope to, some day, find something to say. Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ Modernity starts with the state monopoly on violence, and ends with the state’s monopoly on fiscal irresponsibility. Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ Modernity has replaced ethics with legalese, and the law can be gamed with a good lawyer. Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ Missing a train is only painful if you run after it! Likewise, not matching the idea of success others expect from you is only painful if that’s what you are seeking. You stand above the rat race and… Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ Los Cisnes Negros que imaginamos, de los que hablamos y nos preocupamos no se parecen a los que previsiblemente son Cisnes Negros. Como veremos a continuación, nos preocupamos de los sucesos «improbab… Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ Look into your own existence. Count the significant events, the technological changes, and the inventions that have taken place in our environment since you were born and compare them to what was expe… Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ Let us call Mithridatization the result of an exposure to a small dose of a substance that, over time, makes one immune to additional, larger quantities of it. It is the sort of approach used in vacci… Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ Large corporations and governments do not seem to understand this rebound power of information and its ability to control those who try to control it. When you hear a corporation or a debt-laden gover… Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ La mente humana padece tres trastornos cuando entra en contacto con la historia, lo que yo llamo el terceto de la opacidad. Son los siguientes: a) la ilusión de comprender, o cómo todos pensamos que s… Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ La mejor forma de demostrar el carácter arbitrario de estas categorías, y el efecto de contagio que producen, es recordar con qué frecuencia esos grupos cambian por completo a lo largo de la historia.… Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ La estrategia de los descubridores y emprendedores es confiar menos en la planificación de arriba abajo y centrarse al máximo en reconocer las oportunidades cuando se presentan, y juguetear con ellas.… Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ Knowledge, even when it is exact, does not often lead to appropriate actions because we tend to forget what we know, or forget how to process it properly if we do not pay attention, even when we are e… Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ Just as a little bit of fire here and there gets rid of the flammable material in a forest, a little bit of harm here and there in an economy weeds out the vulnerable firms early enough to allow them… Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ Joseph Stiglitz, with two colleagues, the Orszag brothers (Peter and Jonathan), looked at the very same Fannie Mae. They assessed, in a report, that on the basis of historical experience, the risk to… Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ It would be preferable if we were better at understanding cancer or the (highly nonlinear) weather than the origin of the universe. How Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ It takes considerable effort to see facts (and remember them) while withholding judgment and resisting explanations. And Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ It struck me, a belief that has never left me since, that we are just a great machine for looking backward, and that humans are great at self-delusion. Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ It seemed, wrote Machiavelli, that in the midst of murders and civil wars, our republic became stronger [and] its citizens infused with virtues. … A little bit of agitation gives resources to souls an… Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“ It is the same logic reversal we saw earlier with the value of what we don’t know; everybody knows that you need more prevention than treatment, but few reward acts of prevention. Nassim Nicholas Taleb
